When Una had returned to where Cassius hid in the shadows at the Official Residence, she could tell he was cross, but he said nothing. He simply led the way from the rubbish pit to the gate in the wall. There, at the gate, the guard was asleep, just as Cassius had said.
Una turned back to look at the Official Residence. This was the farthest she’d ever been from it by herself. It gave her a funny feeling inside, guilt and uncertainty, and maybe a little fear, too. Then she remembered how her father hadn’t even looked at her when the messenger came to announce the birth of the baby, and her resolve steeled. They continued walking without speaking, turning left, then right, then left again until they came to a curving road that smelled strongly of horses.
They picked up a sad, swaybacked little mare laden with saddlebags full of provisions, and headed for the western city gate. Una kept her head low, mimicking the servant girls she’d seen so she wouldn’t arouse any suspicion, but she kept watch for a boy. She inhaled deeply, certain his scent would give him away; undoubtedly it would match the scent of his father. But she caught neither scent nor sight of him.
This was probably just as well. She had not yet told Uncle Cassius about the man in the jail. If they didn’t find the boy, then she wouldn’t have to explain herself to her uncle. She also wouldn’t have to explain herself to the boy, who had no knowledge of her conversation with his father and was certain to be suspicious of a stranger giving him trinkets.
The mare slowed as they reached the city limits. It was early, but the city gates had already opened and crowds of individual scents swarmed her. A messenger boy rushed past with a tray of bowls holding steaming liquid. Una took a quick sniff. Spice. She closed her eyes and took another sniff. A hot tang. She smiled. How welcome a bowl of steaming broth made with spice and hot tang would be. When she opened her eyes, the boy was gone, and a tall woman holding a jug on her head hurried by.
The guards’ attention was focused on the crowd entering the city, so uncle and niece slipped past them unnoticed. It was so easy that Una nearly laughed out loud, but her heart reminded her there was nothing funny about a dead mother and a father with a new wife and baby. There was nothing funny about an extended family that had been kept from her. There was nothing funny about a man jailed unjustly and a boy on a quest that was doomed to fail.
She walked out of the city behind the swaybacked mare and Uncle Cassius. There was so much energy here. She knew little of the city beyond the Official Residence, and absolutely nothing outside the city walls. She had once asked Ovid what was out there.
“Nothing for you to concern yourself about, my little flower.”
“But what’s there?” she insisted.
“Only the land of Riddle, a place of wanderers and outlaws.”
At the time, Una was certain that the title of wanderer and outlaw was given to people who went around teaching the law outside the city walls. Now she was pretty certain that was wrong.
Una took in the landscape. To the west was a narrow but well-packed road leading to large plots of farmed fields. She assumed that would be the way Cassius led them. Their ancestral home would undoubtedly be within the rich agricultural lands. To the north, another road led toward hills at the base of mountains. If she were looking for a rare flower, it wouldn’t be among the well-tended agricultural lands. It would be too obvious among rows of fruit trees and fields of grain. The boy must have headed north. The realization hit her with a surprising disappointment. Never had she been able to do anything of great use in her whole life. Never had she done something good for another person. Here had been her chance, and she found herself sorry that it would come to nothing.
But instead of turning west, Cassius turned north.
“Uncle Cassius,” she said to get the young man’s attention.
“Hmm?”
“Are we going the right way?”
“Yes, my home is beyond the mountains. That is why I could not come visit your mother when I was younger. The way is steep and sometimes dangerous.”
Una fingered the strap on her pack. If they were going north, maybe she could find the boy after all.
The road started flat, uncluttered by rocks or hazards. The mare kicked up clods of dirt that occasionally spattered Una’s legs. As they moved farther and farther from the city, the land grew rockier and began to rise into foothills.
Una lifted her head to the misty sky. The morning light was still gray, and the mountains seemed as far away as ever. The Official Residence seemed even farther away. Everyone would probably still be fast asleep, but oh, the excitement there would be when she was found missing! Ovid’s face came into her mind and she felt a twinge of guilt, for he would be under condemnation because of her absence. She really should have left a letter. She just hoped her father wouldn’t be angry with him. It wasn’t Ovid’s fault that she had left. On the contrary, it was mostly her father’s fault.
Una took a deep breath, seeking the scent of love. Everything would be all right. It had to be. She would find the boy so he could help his father, and she would make a new home for herself with her mother’s family. Both of them would find exactly what they hoped for.
